_ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' VOLUME 15, ISSUE 005 / /-< / /--/ /-- __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, WOTANGING IKCHE - Lakota - Common News Wotanging Ikche and Native American News Copyright c. 1996-2007 nanews.org Aboriginal/AmerIndian Perspective about the First Nations of Turtle Island February 3, 2007 Mvskogee hotvlee-hv'see/wind moon Assiniboine amhanska/long dry moon Eastern Cherokee nvda kola/bone moon Kiowa kaguat p'a san/little bud moon Passamaquoddy piyatokonis/moon when the spruce tips fall +-------------------------------------------------------+ | Much more happens in Indian Country than is reported | | in this weekly newsletter. For daily updates & events | | go to http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm | +-------------------------------------------------------+ Otapi'sin Atsinikiisinaakssin -- Blackfeet -- News for All the People Ni-mah-mi-kwa-zoo-min -- Ojibwe -- We Are Talking About Ourselves Aunchemokauhettittea -- Naragansett -- Let Us Share News Kanoheda Aniyvwiya -- Cherokee -- Journal of the People O Es'te Opunvk'vmucvse -- Creek -- People's New News O o O Acimowin -- Plains Cree -- Story or Account O o O Tlaixmatiliztli -- Nahuatl -- News O o o o o O Agnutmaqan -- Listuguj Mi'kmaq -- News O o O Sho-da-ku-ye -- Teehahnahmah -- Talking Birchbark O o O Un Chota -- Susquehannic Seneca -- The People Speak O Ha-Sah-Sliltha -- Ditidaht Nation -- News of the People Ximopanolti tehuatzin, inin Mexika tlahtolli -- Nahuatl -- For you we offer these words It-hah-pe-hah Ah-num pah-le -- Chickasaw -- Together We Are Talking Dineh jii' adah' ho'nil'e'gii ba' ha' neh -- Navajo Nation -- What's Happening among The People News Okla Humma Holisso Nowat Anya -- Choctaw -- People(s) Red Newspaper Hi'a chu ah gaa -- Pima -- The stories or the talk of the People s ch mA mL tL squee Lux -- Okanogan -- News from the People Native American News -- Language of the Occupation Forces ++>If you speak a Native American language not listed above, please send us your words for "News of the People." We'd rather take up this whole page saving these few words of our hundreds of nations than present a nice clean banner in the language of the occupation forces who came here determined to replace our words with their own. email gars@nanews.org with the equivalent of "News of the People" in your tribal language along with the english translation <================<<<< >>>>================> This newsletter is produced in straight ASCII text for greatest portability across platforms. Read it with a fixed-pitch font, such as Courier, Monaco, FixedSys or CG Times. Proportional fonts will be difficult to read. <================<<<< >>>>================> This issue contains articles from www.owlstar.com; www.indianz.com; www.pechanga.net; www.indiancountrytoday.com; Mailing Lists: Chiapas95-En, A-infos, Indigenous Peoples Literature, Frostys AmerIndian, Rez_Life, Iron Natives, Remember The Cherokee/Tsalagi and Native American Poetry; UUCP Mail IMPORTANT!! ----------- In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, all material appearing in this newsletter is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for educational purposes. <================<<<< >>>>================> This newsletter is a way of keeping the brothers and sisters who share our Spirit informed about current events within the lives of those who walk the Red Road. ++ It may be subscribed to via email by sending a request from your own internet addressable account to gars@speakeasy.org ++ It is archived at http://www.nanews.org <================<<<< >>>>================> +-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --+ + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + | As historian Patricia Nelson | | Once a language is lost, it is | | Limerick summarized in "The | | gone forever | | Legacy of Conquest: The Unbroken | | * Of the 300 original Native | | Past of the American West... | | languages in North America, | | "Set the blood quantum at | | only 175 exist today. | | one-quarter, hold to it as a | | * 125 of these are no longer | | rigid definition of Indians, | | learned by children. | | let intermarriage proceed as | | * 55 are spoken by 1 to 6 elders;| | it had for centuries, and | | when they die, their language | | eventually Indians will be | | will disappear. | | defined out of existence." | | * Without action, only 20 | | "When that happens, the federal | | languages will survive the next| | government will be freed of | | 50 years. | | its persistent 'Indian problem.'"| | Source: Indigenous Language | +-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --+ | Institute | |http://www.indigenous-language.org| This issue's Quote: + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + =================== Along the U.S.-Mexico border, the body count continues to pile up daily. Meanwhile, the Minutemen patrol the U.S.-Mexico border and shameless politicians find it easy to denounce illegal immigration as the cause of all the nation's problems - including linking it with "the war on terror." Amidst all the clatter, the only views not being heard are the ones that matter most. Thus here, we bring you a truly historic column, featuring the views of those that have come before us to these lands: American Indians: "The movement to try to force the Mexican people to learn the English language and the culture and traditions of America to stay in this country may not be totally successful. I can tell you from firsthand experience that when the federal government tried to strip me of my language and traditions, it did only a partial job, because of my resistance to being subdued. Today I am glad I have retained my culture, traditions and the Keres language, for that is where my heart and soul belong.... __ Katheirne Augustine - Laguna Pueblo, retired nurse, excerpts from Albq Tribune +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | Indian Pledge of Allegiance | The Indian Pledge of Alleg- | | iance was first presented | I pledge allegiance to my Tribe,| on 2 December '93 during the | to the democratic principles | opening address of the Nat- | of the Republic | ional Congress of American | and to the individual freedoms | Indian Tribal-States Relat- | borrowed from the Iroquois and | ions Panel in Reno, NV. NCAI | Choctaw Confederacies, | plans distribution of the | as incorporated in the United | Indian Pledge to all Indian | States Constitution, | Nations. | so that my forefathers | | shall not have died in vain | Walk in Beauty! Night Owl +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | Journey | In the summer and early fall | The Bloodline | of 1998 the Treaty Unity Riders | | rode a thousand miles on horse- | For all that live and live by law | back, carrying a staff and | We Stand, we Call, We Ride | praying each step of the way. | For All that fear and fear by sight | | We Hear, we Listen, we Ride | These prayers were offered for | For all that pray and pray by strength| each of us, and that the Unity | We Feel, we Move, we Ride | of all Peoples might happen. | For all that die and die by greed | | We Hurt, we Cry, we Ride | Tatanka Cante forwarded this | For all that birth and birth by right | poem on behalf of all the Unity | We Smile, we Hold, we Ride | Riders that we might stop and | For all that need and need by heart | ask if the next words we say, the | We Came, we Went, we Rode. | next act we make is for the good | | of the People or is it from ego | Treaty Unity Riders | for self. +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ O'siyo Brothers and Sisters I just do not get it ... what is it about simple respect that some members of other ethnic groups simply cannot or will not understand? Many newspapers now have a comment or blog area following a story in their online editions for readers to record their responses. The supporters of Chief Illiniwek at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are not the only ones blind to the fact that using Native American mascots is denigrating, disrespectful and just plain racist. Following the announcement by Indian activists in Tennessee denouncing the use of Native mascots throughout the state's secondary schools and subsequent endorsement by the Methodist church, comments in many online newspapers were littered with many hate-filled and racists remarks. In the spirit of keeping this newsletter full of truth I hasten to add there were some comments that reflected thoughtful understanding. I can also assure you they were in the minority. I am 63 years old, soon I will be 64, and lived through the marches for racial equality by blacks. Today, you will not find Jim Crow statues in lawns nor "Whites Only" signs on restrooms. I pray it doesn't take similar confrontations to get rid of ethnic reminders that Native Peoples are little more than whooping renegades on cinema screens and the mascot across the gridiron from a bulldog, hornet or duck. We are real people with real needs Mr. and Mrs. USA, and one of those needs is for Chief Wahoo posters to come down and stupid Hollywood war chants to come to a halt throughout the land. Dohiyi Ani Oginalii , , Gary Smith (*,*) wotanging@bellsouth.net P. O. Box 672168 (`-') gars@nanews.org Marietta, GA 30006, U.S.A. ===w=w=== http://www.nanews.org ----------- News of the people featured in this issue ----------- Editorial Section: - Threatened Amazon Tribes . Native American Mascots fight against the odds - Indigenous among - Collectives agree the Hemisphere's Poorest to organize No Border Camp - Indian Plaintiffs - AFN protests Federal lose trust fund ruling challenge of School Decision - Settlement concepts offer - Future of Dehcho land plan remains viable, Part 3 lies in limbo - NCAI's Garcia delivers - Metis Hunting Rights State of Indian Nations - Passport requirement - Garcia's 'call to action' 'irritates' Mohawks answered - Crown keeps faltering - Bear Butte Liquor License on 6 Nations Claims dispute headed to Court - Ottawa, Six Nations - Tennessee Activists outline positions want ban on Indian Mascots - Land Claim would - Methodist Group calls fail in Court: Report for end to NA Mascots - Demands for MP's resignation - Wampanoag Tribe fuel debate supends its Hatchery Operations - BC Treaty Monster Grows 3 Heads - Public help keeps - Chiefs end talks with Ottawa Children's Home from Closing - Appeal means Residential School - American Indian center deal on hold plans approved - Update from Grand River, - Dole resurrects Lumbee Bill January 27, 2007 - Gale Norton told: - Bid to end First Nations Poverty Reverse Recognition or be fired - First Nations Court action - Navajo Marine given over Landfill Conscientious-objector Status - Riot police on standby - Indian educator looks in Caledonia to continue helping - Native Justice - Bills seek to check -- Native Juvenile arrests Tribal Casino Expansion in South Dakota - New Salish Blanket -- Native Prisoners woven, celebrated seeking Pen Pals - Relocation of Alaska - Rustywire: Born in the Snow Native Villages - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days - YELLOW BIRD: - Lee Goins Poem: Tolerance should be accepted A Good Way To Wake Up - HARJO: Order in House - Upcoming Events needed for Indian Affairs --------- "RE: Indigenous among the Hemisphere's Poorest" --------- Date: Monday, January 22, 2007 07:23 pm From: frostyca2000 Subj: ndigenous Peoples Among the Hemisphere's Poorest Mailing List: Frostys AmerIndian http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070120.wwebex0120 /BNStory/specialComment/home globeandmail.com: Indigenous Peoples Among the Hemisphere's Poorest. Why? PEDRO MEDRANO Special to Globe and Mail Update As we observe, this year, the 500th anniversary of the New World being named "America" by a German cartographer, we shouldn't forget that for most of the indigenous population the last five centuries have, unfortunately, meant continued poverty and suffering. In fact, only four years after the publication of the map in 1507, Antonio de Montesinos, a Dominican friar, gave a sermon in Santo Domingo in which he decried the cruelty and injustice inflicted on the local Indians. At the time, the authorities' solution was simply to order Brother Montesinos to stop giving sermons. While conditions have changed greatly since then, it remains an undisputed fact that indigenous peoples remain among the hemisphere's poorest, hungriest most undernourished people. Even in fully developed countries such as Canada and the United States, we can see that the promise of the New World continues to elude much of the indigenous population. For some, this may simply be a statement of the obvious. But no one can remain unmoved by the magnitude of the problem. If, instead of viewing the indigenous population through the prism of individual countries where proportionately they may not constitute a significant part of the population, it's instructive to see them as a totality ? a human mass relegated to the shadows of the continent's economic development. We are then talking about a population of some 40 to 50 million people, the majority to be found in Latin America. Their numerical importance on our continent and elsewhere was recognized during the United Nations International Decade of the World's Indigenous People launched in 1994. But 10 years later, despite many conferences and speeches, a study by the World Bank found few if any gains in poverty reduction. A critical area of concern continues to be the state of poor nutrition found among indigenous peoples. For example, according to the last Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) for Guatemala, the rate of chronic malnutrition for children under 5 was 67 per cent, compared with 34 per cent for non-indigenous children. And in other countries of the region, a similar stark pattern emerges with the indigenous faring worse than the non- indigenous. The implications are enormous and go well beyond the indigenous population, which bears the direct brunt of the ravages of under-nutrition. Not only does it result in physical stunting and irreparable damage to the brain but, in turn, this carries serious costs for their societies as a whole. Malnourished children require more health services and more expensive types of care. As well, they have poorer schooling results and may repeat grades more often. In addition, productivity losses to individuals are estimated at more than 10 per cent of lifetime earnings, all of which has a negative impact on a society's economic development. Conversely, research in Brazil has shown that a 1-per- cent increase in height is associated with a 4-per-cent increase in wages. The logic is brutally clear. To help the region's indigenous peoples rise out of poverty, we must start by improving child nutrition, especially during the vulnerable and formative period from birth to five years of age. While the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People failed to generate tangible results, it was marked by a groundswell of indigenous political anger. This included the 1994 rebellion in Chiapas, Mexico, as well as the toppling of governments in Bolivia and Ecuador. Indigenous political activists are unlikely to overlook the continued failure of governments to properly deal with the problems of malnutrition that for centuries has blighted their societies and needlessly exacerbated the poverty they endure from generation to generation. It would be a moral and political mistake if governments in the region, as well as developed countries everywhere, continue to ignore the problem and its consequences. The research tells us that the primary foundation of sustainable poverty-reduction lies in proper nutritional intervention. At the same time, we know that the cost of fighting under-nutrition is a tiny fraction of the long-term economic costs to these communities and their broader societies. More important, we know how to combat the problems of under-nutrition. All we need is the political will. Surely, 500 years after the naming of this continent, we can ensure that all its citizens receive the minimum benefits of civilization or, at least, basic humanity. --- Pedro Medrano is the regional director of the World Food Program for Latin America. --------- "RE: Indian Plaintiffs lose trust fund ruling" --------- Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2007 08:51:58 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="DOI DELAY TACTICS SUCCEED" http://www.indianz.com/News/2007/000546.asp Indian plaintiffs lose trust fund ruling despite DOI delay January 25, 2007 A group of Indian beneficiaries who waited more than 30 years for their trust fund payments aren't entitled to additional money, a federal appeals court ruled on Wednesday. In a unanimous decision, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals agreed the Interior Department breached its trust duties by "unreasonably" delaying the distribution of a judgment fund to 1,900 Sioux descendants. The beneficiaries, under a 1972 act of Congress, were entitled to 25 percent of a $5.9 million trust. But a three-judge panel noted that Congress modified the trust fund distribution formula in 1988 -- while the plaintiffs were still waiting for their share. As a result, the court let Interior off the hook for failing to release the money before it was reduced. "Congress, acting within its proper authority before any distribution to the lineal descendants occurred, reallocated the lineal descendants' share of the judgment fund," Judge Alvin A. Schall wrote in the 16-page ruling. The decision means the plaintiffs -- led by Barry LeBeau of South Dakota -- aren't entitled to $1.9 million in damages. That figure was based on the amount the beneficiaries would have received had Interior fully distributed the trust fund before Congress changed the formula in 1988. However, the Sioux descendants are still entitled to $1.7 million in damages based on another case involving Casimir LeBeau, a former Bureau of Indian Affairs employee. That amount was based on Interior's failure to make a partial distribution in 1982. For reasons unknown, former Interior Secretary James Watt ignored two requests from the BIA to make the partial distribution. That was a breach of trust, according to the final judgment in the Casimir LeBeau case that was also applied to the Barry LeBeau case. Barry LeBeau tried to go further by arguing that the plaintiffs in his class action lawsuit were owed additional money based on Interior's failure to act before Congress changed the distribution formula. "The cause of the loss to the class was made possible by the failure of the Secretary to pay out the fund in 1982 and thereafter," LeBeau's attorney wrote in a brief to the Federal Circuit. "But for the breach of trust, the 1998 legislation would not have occurred. But for the breach of trust in 1982 and continuing, no corpus of money would have been available to raid by use of influence." The "raid" referred to political pressure exerted by three tribes -- the Spirit Lake Nation of North Dakota, the Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux Tribe of South Dakota and the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of Montana. In 1988, they convinced Congress to award them an extra share of the $5.9 million judgment fund. The Clinton administration had opposed the change. "Simply put, the delay in distributing the funds gave the tribes time to lobby Congress to reallocate the funds," LeBeau's attorney wrote. Long before the LeBeau lawsuits, the tribes had received 75 percent of the judgment fund, which was created to compensate for 26 million acres of stolen land. The individual Indian beneficiaries should have been entitled to the remaining 25 percent but the 1998 law reduced their share even further. In the Casimir LeBeau case, Judge Lawrence L. Piersol of South Dakota ruled that the political pressure exerted by the tribes wasn't an excuse for failing to distribute the money to the individual Indians. The Bush administration sought to appeal but dropped the case after losing two major trust lawsuits before the U.S. Supreme Court. "While the court recognizes that governmental agencies are not free from political pressure and are subject to budgetary restrictions, the BIA's lack of diligence in preparing the roll and distributing the judgment fund because of a lack of political pressure from any tribe violated the defendant's duties to the lineal descendants as trustee of the fund," Piersol wrote in 2002. The individual Indian share of the trust fund has since grown to more than $14 million. Copyright c. 2000-2006 Indianz.Com. --------- "RE: Settlement concepts offer remains viable, Part 3" --------- Date: Sun, 28 Jan 2007 12:41:28 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="COBELL CASE" http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096414407 'Settlement concepts' offer remains viable in Cobell case by: Jerry Reynolds / Indian Country Today January 26, 2007 Part three WASHINGTON - Discussions will continue in the new Congress on "settlement concepts" to resolve the Cobell v. Kempthorne litigation, along with some of the problems that brought it about. The class action lawsuit, brought by Individual Indian Money account holders against the Interior Department, seeks an accounting of IIM funds, as well as a financial settlement based on the mismanagement alleged against Interior by congressional reports and agency audits. A congressional initiative to end the litigation faltered last year. At the tail end of that process, the Bush administration brought forward a handful of suggestions under the rubric of "settlement concepts." "There's been a lot of consultation so far, and it looks like we need some more," said James Cason, associate deputy secretary for Indian affairs at Interior and a regular participant in consultations on Cobell- related legislation. He added that Interior, the federal government's lead delegate in dealing with Indian trust issues, often doesn't get credit for consultation with tribes because it has to put a lot of thought into its suggestions before they can be offered up for consultation. Without the prior thoughtfulness and effort, he added, there would be no point to consultation because the ideas would not be substantive enough to discuss. The latter certainly can't be said of the settlement concepts, which would ordain a federal withdrawal from management of the IIM trust in two phases over a 10-year period. The priority of the first phase would be consolidation of fractionated lands by voluntary and involuntary mechanisms. Fractionated lands, universally recognized as the leading problem in managing the IIM trust, would be consolidated; but land title would remain with Indian individuals or tribes. The priority of the second phase would be transition to a "beneficiary-managed" trust with limits on federal liability. The proposals have met with substantial hostility from Indian country, but also with some measure of support. Ross Swimmer, Interior's special trustee, said that consolidating land so that owners can make economic decisions in their own interest, rather than simply holding land in trust without real benefit to the owners, is the genuine path toward self-determination. "So that we're not maintaining a trust that has 1/1,000th of an interest that brought in two cents last year, but there's a tract of land where we're maintaining it in trust, but someone is using it for their benefit. That's what we'd like to see." Cason, too, emphasized solutions, and not necessarily Interior's solutions. "You know, if someone in Indian country has a better way to create a solution than the way we put it on the table, great. Tell us what it is. Because in the end, what Ross and I are trying to do is spend our time effectively, trying to help a particular, well-defined constituency get better results out of the investments we're making. "Right now, we spend about $3 billion a year into Indian country, and we'd like to get a better product, a better solution for Indian country, than where we are now. ... But in the end, let's stop and think about what the options are and what the problems are, and let's think together about how we can solve them." Swimmer and Cason both believe a financial settlement of the magnitude contemplated by plaintiffs and the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs - $8 billion at last report - is not an option, according at least to the accounting process Interior has engaged in. Cason said any settlement figure should have "some semblance of a relationship to the facts." "The administration supports settling Cobell," he said. "And the Hill [Capitol Hill] supports settling Cobell. And the real issue is ... how much does it cost us and what are we buying?" "I think one of the problems," Swimmer added, "even in S. 1439 [last year's failed congressional attempt to settle Cobell legislatively], is that there's so much to fix that it's very difficult to figure out what you're paying for. Congress has - all of us have to know what we're paying for." Copyright c. 1998 - 2007 Indian Country Today. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: NCAI's Garcia delivers State of Indian Nations" --------- Date: Sun, 28 Jan 2007 12:41:28 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="STATE OF INDIAN NATIONS" http://www.indianz.com/News/2007/000581.asp NCAI's Garcia delivers State of Indian Nations January 26, 2007 The leader of the nation's largest inter-tribal organization said on Thursday he hopes to build on the achievements of his first full year in office. Joe Garcia, the president of the National Congress of Americans, said tribes succeeded in turned out the Native vote last year. He cited two examples: freshman Sen. Jon Tester (D-Montana), who benefited from a surge in reservation votes, and Rep. Heather Wilson (R-New Mexico), who narrowly won her re-election bid in a district with a handful of tribes. "Both of these candidates have spoken out on issues of concern to Indian Nations," Garcia said during the 5th annual State of Indian Nations, a speech that was carried on C-SPAN and radio stations across the country. "They have been supportive of tribal governments and they addressed Native issues in their platforms." Another success came with heightened awareness of the methamphetamine crisis in Indian Country, Garcia said. He pointed to a prevention partnership with the Interior Department and the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, as well as efforts by Congress to help tribes fight the drug. "Our collaborative efforts have put us on the right path," Garcia said at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Despite the progress, Garcia said NCAI's work on some other items must continue in the coming year. They include passage of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, a bill that will modernize the way millions of American Indians and Alaska Natives receive health care services. Tribes made a big push to reauthorize the legislation, which expired in 2000, at the end of the 109th Congress. But on the eve of consideration in the Senate, Republicans blocked the bill after the Bush administration raised objections. "We came close to passage, but time ran out," said Garcia. "Therefore, this item remains on the agenda and it is more important than ever." With Democrats in control of the 110th Congress, tribes are encouraged by Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-North Dakota), the new chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. He plans to make health care a top priority, said Jackie Johnson, the executive director of NCAI. "He knows and understands the treaty responsibilities and obligations," said Johnson. "He understands and respects tribes as sovereign nations." The forecast for another item is less clear. That's a legislative settlement to the Cobell trust fund lawsuit, which has been pending in the courts for 10 years. "It affects everything we do," observed Johnson. "It affects the budgets we get from Congress, it affects the programs as the federal government evaluates its trust liability for Indian nations." NCAI worked with other organizations and the Cobell plaintiffs on principles to settle the case and fix the trust system. But legislation to provide $8 billion to hundreds of thousands of individual tribal members ran into serious hurdles when the Bush administration, late last year, proposed some concepts that Indian Country widely rejected. Garcia said NCAI will take a fresh approach in the coming year in order to respond to resolve issues surrounding the lawsuit. "We need to regroup, " he said. "Let's all put our heads together and finalize what it is we need to do so that we're more in tune, rather than [taking] a shot in the dark." In other areas, Garcia said NCAI will continue efforts to strengthen tribal governance, improve the public safety and justice systems on reservations, spur economic development, support education and harness natural resources while protecting the environment. Garcia was elected president of NCAI in November 2005. He has served as governor of Ohkay Owingeh, a pueblo in northern New Mexico. He currently serves as chairman of the All Indian Pueblos Council, which represents all 19 pueblos in the state. Copyright c. 2000-2006 Indianz.Com. --------- "RE: Garcia's 'call to action' answered" --------- Date: Sun, 28 Jan 2007 12:41:28 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="GAPING HOLE NEEDS TO BE FILLED" http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096414410 Garcia's 'call to action' answered by: Editors Report / Indian Country Today January 26, 2007 In his 2006 State of Indian Nations address, National Congress of American Indians President Joe Garcia raised the campaign against methamphetamine abuse as a top priority. "Meth is killing our children, affecting our cultures and ravaging our communities," he said. His comments helped spark a Senate hearing on the issue, resulting in the introduction of bills targeting meth use among Indian tribes. As Indian Country Today goes to press, Garcia will speak again to Indian country. There is little doubt that the meth crisis initiative will continue, given its recent achievements. The 110th Congress opened session with the introduction of legislation aimed at meth use among Indian tribes. The Native American Methamphetamine Enforcement and Treatment Act is sponsored by Rep. Dale Kildee, D-Mich., co-chairman of the Native American Caucus and a member of the House Resources Committee. Introduced on Jan. 17, the bill aims to make Indian tribes eligible for federal funding to confront the production and use of meth. The Indian Tribes Methamphetamine Reduction Grants Act, sponsored by then-Chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee Sen. John McCain, R- Ariz., addresses the effects of meth on reservation crime on reservation law enforcement and tribal health and social services. Two other measures focus on the reporting of crime and health statistics as affected by meth use in Indian country. The comprehensive nature of the proposed legislation speaks to the substantial obstacles facing Indian communities. Congress' relative quickness to spring into action is likely due to the partnership between specific House and Senate committees, and the frightening rapidity with which the meth epidemic spreads. While we applaud these bipartisan efforts, there is a gaping hole in the defense. The continuing struggle for the reauthorization of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act underlies all of this new legislation. The IHS is chronically underfunded and is ill-equipped to competently manage yet another health or social epidemic. These bills consider the health and wellness of victims of meth use; it makes sense to be able to provide ourselves with adequate treatment measures. A report released Jan. 23 cites that Native people suffer from substance abuse disorders at rates higher than any other racial or ethnic group. Although data on meth use was not factored in, tribal leaders throughout the nations agree that is on the rise. In Indian communities, meth use is not only a cause; it's an effect, preying on those already drowning in problems associated with alcohol and drug abuse. Ironically, the inclusion in the IHCIA of culturally-based treatment programs that emphasize and promote Indian values and spirituality is a sticking point for the Bush administration. We hope that the good work to push meth legislation will not go to waste. The facilities and services in targeted communities must be modernized if they are to be successful in this modern battle. Maybe we need to speak their language for a better understanding of our needs. New threats require new tactics, to paraphrase the president. We must remain vigilant. Copyright c. 1998 - 2007 Indian Country Today. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Bear Butte Liquor License dispute headed to Court" --------- Date: Mon, 29 Jan 2007 08:29:44 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BEAR BUTTE BUFFER ZONE" http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096414397 Bear Butte liquor license dispute headed for state Supreme Court by: David Melmer / Indian Country Today January 29, 2007 PIERRE, S.D. - The South Dakota Supreme Court has received an appeal on a lower court decision to not allow petitioners a chance to veto the issuance of a malt beverage license near sacred Bear Butte in the northern Black Hills of South Dakota. The battle to stop owners from opening huge biker bar venues within sight and sound of Bear Butte grew this past summer and challenges the Meade County Board of Commissioners' policy that allows liquor licenses near the mountain. Attorney Thomas Van Norman, a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and the tribal attorney, filed the appeal on Jan. 14 on behalf of the petitioners. The appeal is in response to the circuit court order that denied petitioners a writ of mandamus that would have compelled Meade County, in which Bear Butte is located, to hold a referendum vote on the malt beverage license issue. During the first week of every August, 500,000 bikers converge on the normally small community of Sturgis, located just three miles from Bear Butte. Large-venue entertainment complexes located within sight and sound of Bear Butte offer entertainment and encourage the bikers to party. Entertainment complexes or stadiums that can accommodate some 30,000 people are either being constructed or are in operation nearby. Bear Butte is considered one of the most sacred of sites by numerous Great Plains tribes. Oral histories point to the mountain as the source of the spiritual life of the Cheyenne, Crow, Lakota, Shoshone, Arapaho, Kiowa and nearly 25 other tribes. Members of the various tribes pray on the mountain nearly every day of the year. Many American Indian soldiers who are deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan pray on Bear Butte before they leave and after they return. Families pray for ill members and many individuals seek visions on the mountain. Bear Butte is also a state park. During the Sturgis Rally, those who pray assert that noise and other distractions from the music and the non-muffled bikes disturb their concentration and meditation. A camp composed of people from many American Indian nations gathered on the mountain for more than a month this past summer to bring awareness to the sacredness. Support for the tribes has come from many local ranchers who also see a need to curtail the growth of the rally industry. The trigger for the rallies and protests came when Jay Allen, owner of a new campground, bar and entertainment complex, applied for a malt beverage license for a new venue to be located just to the north of the mountain. He also owns the Broken Spoke campground and bar, located north of the mountain. A petition to request a referendum vote on the license was filed with the county auditor within the legal time after the commission approved the license. The auditor certified the petition, but the commission unanimously voted to reject a referendum vote based on administrative decision. The case was then sent to circuit court, which found in favor of the county. Petitioners in the case contend that applications submitted by Allen were not treated properly by the county commission. Allen's first application, submitted in April 2006, the petitioners argue, asked for a new malt beverage license to be used at the new venue near Bear Butte. It was issued on June 9. Also in April, Allen submitted an application for the renewal of an existing malt beverage license at the Broken Spoke. The petitioners argue that both license applications were treated similarly. The renewal was subject to only a check of sales tax licensure and comments from law enforcement on potential calls over problems at the location of the license. Petitioners argue that a complete background check - required for new licenses - was not completed and that the commission used the same criteria as for a renewal. In their brief to the state's high court, the petitioners further argue that the circuit court erred in its decision to deny the petitioner's first request to hold the referendum. They also contend that the county commissioners denied the petitioners their constitutional and statutory rights by refusing to print ballots and hold the referendum vote. The petitioners pointed out that both the legislative and administrative actions of municipal governments are subject to the referendum process in the state of South Dakota. The county commission denied a referendum based on administrative procedure. Legal precedence points out that any decisions made by counties or municipalities on liquor licenses are subject to referendum. The law also is clear, the petitioners argue, that the discretionary powers afforded to the county commission is legislative and therefore subject to referendum. It is not clear whether a new referendum would overturn the county commission's decision to issue two malt beverage licenses to Allen. Allen also succeeded in purchasing a full liquor license from a steak house in the county that has since closed. Copyright c. 1998 - 2007 Indian Country Today. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Tennessee Activists want ban on Indian Mascots" --------- Date: Tue, 23 Jan 2007 08:20:02 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CALL FOR END OF INDIAN MASCOTS IN TENNESSEE" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.wbir.com/news/regional/story.aspx?storyid=41457 Activists want ban on schools' Indian mascots By: Katie Allison Granju, Producer By BRAD SCHRADE Staff Writer - THE TENNESSEAN January 22, 2006 Teams at Riverdale High School in Murfreesboro are nicknamed the Warriors. The school's sports mascot is Chief Win-Em-All. And the basketball gym's student bleacher section is called "The Reservation," its name painted in big letters. Riverdale is one of at least two dozen high schools along with about 80 middle and elementary schools in Tennessee that have some reference to Indians in their team name, according to a group of Native American activists who want the names changed. In Middle Tennessee several high schools have such names, including the Montgomery Central High Indians in Cunningham and the Harpeth High Indians in Kingston Springs. Metro Nashville has the Hunters Lane High Warriors. The activist group plans to approach the state's Human Rights Commission on Friday about joining its cause to ask the schools to change their sports team names. "There's racism going on when you have a school mascot called the Redskins," said Tom Kunesh, an Indian activist in Chattanooga who plans to go to the rights commission. "That's Native American imagery used and controlled by non-native Americans and often used in satirical and non-flattering ways." Riverdale takes pride The resolution he and others will be carrying to the commission was adopted in late 2005 by the Tennessee Commission of Indian Affairs, an unfunded state body that represents Native American interests. The resolution, which Kunesh helped draft, calls for the end to "Indian mascots and symbols in the state public schools." Kunesh said the team name practice is opposed by almost every Indian group in the country and by a host of national civil rights and education groups. At Riverdale, Principal Tom Nolan said the school takes pride in its sports name and the 35-year tradition of the Warriors. To take that away would hurt the school, which so identifies with its Indian name, he said. That tradition is on display throughout the school. The student newspaper is called Smoke Signal, and the signs above the classroom doors are shaped like arrowheads. Nolan said none of it is done in a comic book or caricaturing manner. "We take a lot of pride in being the Warriors," Nolan said. "This whole community would go crazy if somebody tried to change our name from the Warriors." He said the school promotes Native American culture. One year it had Indian dancers come to teach students about this past. Down a hallway near the school entrance, a large mural was painted in 2004 by an art teacher who is part Cherokee. The mural depicts an Indian trader who lived and worked near the Stones River, where the school sits today, according to Carrie Perkins, the teacher who painted it. "It's history," Perkins said of the school's identity with Indians. "There's something behind it. If you take that away you've erased it." TSSAA takes no position The battle over Indian sports mascots dates to at least the 1970s, according to the National Congress of American Indians. The University of Oklahoma changed its mascot Little Red in 1972, according to the NCAI, which has come out with resolutions opposing using Indian names for sports mascots. In the 1990s, a Native American activist group sued the Washington Redskins football team for trademark infringement. And in 2005 the NCAA banned the use of Indian mascots in postseason tournaments. "People are finally paying attention and taking time to understand this is offensive and why it's offensive," said Adam McMullin, a spokesman with NCAI. In Tennessee, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga stopped using Chief Moccanooga as its mascot in the mid-1990s when Kunesh and others asked the school to change. But there's been little noise on the issue at the high school level, according to Matthew Gillespie of the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association. He said the TSSAA, which includes about 380 member schools, doesn't have anything in its bylaws on the matter and doesn't have any plans to take a position. "That's something we would leave up to the school and the concerned group," he said. The Human Rights Commission also hasn't heard much on the issue, said Executive Director Amber Gooding. The commission is willing to hear the concerns, although the issue may be out of its area, which primarily deals with discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodations, Gooding said. Melba Checote-Eads, a Native American who lives in Mt. Juliet, hopes something is done on the issue. She helped draft the 2005 resolution as a member of the advisory board for the Commission of Indian Affairs. She hopes this will be a first step toward helping end the negative stereotypes of Indians she believes the sports mascots perpetuate. She said for schools such as Riverdale to use something like "The Reservation" in its sports program is hurtful and demeaning. "This is a human rights issue," Checote-Eads said. "It stereotypes our people. It's harmful to our youth and to other youth." Copyright c. 2007 The Tennesseean. --------- "RE: Methodist Group calls for end to NA Mascots" --------- Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2007 08:51:58 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="METHODISTS ENDORSE CALL FOR END OF NA MASCOTS" http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070124/NEWS06/70124025 Methodist group calls for end to schools' Native American mascots By ANITA WADHWANI Staff Writer January 24, 2007 Calling the use of such mascots "demeaning," "offensive" and "harmful to Native American youth," a native American ministry of the United Methodist Church is asking the Tennessee Human Rights Commission to back the elimination of American Indian-themed mascots at state elementary, middle and high schools. American Indian groups have said they plan to ask members of Human Rights Commission on Friday to join their efforts to change the names of mascots, playing fields, sports teams and bleacher sections that bear American Indian names at the state's schools. In a letter to the state Human Rights Commission, the Southeastern Jurisdiction Agency on Native American Ministry of the United Methodist Church likened the use of Native American slogans, symbols to colonization. "The use of mascost names, which characterize Native Americans as aggressive, demean and dehumanize the "real people" in which these names are found offensive," the letter said. Some two dozen high schools and 80 middle and elementary schools have some reference to Indians in their team name, according to Native American activists. Those schools include Riverdale High in Murfreesboro, where sports teams are named the "Warriors," the school's sports mascot is "Chief Win-Em-All" and the basketball gym's student bleacher section is called "The Reservation." Schools officials have said students take pride in the sports names, often rooted in the history of the school. Copyright c. 2007 Tennessean. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Wampanoag Tribe supends its Hatchery Operations" --------- Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2007 08:51:58 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SHELLFISH HATCHERY CLOSED DOWN" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.mvtimes.com/news/2007/01/25/wampanoag_hatchery.php Wampanoag tribe supends its hatchery operations January 25, 2007 The tribe's shellfish hatchery uses six acres on Menemsha Pond for growing out mature oysters. Photo by Ezra Blair By Nelson Sigelman - January 25, 2007 The Wampanoag Shellfish Hatchery at the head of Menemsha Pond off State Road in Aquinnah lies dormant. Hatchery director Rob Garrison left in September, and there are no immediate plans to raise juvenile shellfish this year. Spencer Booker, president of the Wampanoag Shellfish Hatchery Corporation, said this week that the departure of Mr. Garrison and the suspension of hatchery operations are part of a needed restructuring. That includes a shift in focus from research to the business side of the operation. Mr. Booker said that Mr. Garrison did a wonderful job getting the operation going and providing a product to sell, but that the time for costly research and development is over. "The tribe decided that after six years, going on seven, it was time for it to become a self-sustaining entity and stand on its feet financially," he said. The operation typically shuts down during the winter months, and there are currently no plans to restart the hatchery once spring arrives this year. That does not preclude future collaboration to use the hatchery, Mr. Booker said. When Mr. Garrison left, the board named David Vanderhoop to be acting director. Mr. Booker said he views the recent changes positively. "I find it to be quite an exciting time," he said. Mr. Booker who also works for the tribe's department of natural resources. Meanwhile, an ongoing bay scallop enhancement program fits into the overall goal of growing and selling a variety of shellfish, he said. The lack of hatchery activity will also not immediately affect the sale of oysters. Mr. Booker said there is an ample supply of oysters currently in the growing bags, enough to sustain operations for the next few years, he said. The tribe began raising oysters in its new solar shellfish hatchery in 2002, under the direction of Mr. Garrison. In spring 2004, the hatchery began shipping out shellfish marketed as "Tomahawk Oysters" that had been raised to maturity in Menemsha Pond. The tribe currently leases a site of about six acres in Menemsha Pond from the town of Aquinnah for its aquaculture operation. Oysters are spawned in the tribe's shellfish hatchery and then raised to maturity in plastic mesh bags that are suspended from floats and connected in large rafts floating in the pond. Copyright c. The Martha's Vineyard Times 2007. --------- "RE: Public help keeps Children's Home from Closing" --------- Date: Mon, 29 Jan 2007 08:29:44 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="STRONG PUBLIC RESPONSE" http://www.nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=8560 Public Outpouring of Help keeps Children's Home from Closing Creek Nation donates $100k MUSKOGEE OK By Liz Gray January 29, 2007 "It's been crazy! It's never been this exciting!" - Joan Brown, Director In December Native American Times covered a story that the Indian Children's Murrow Home, located in Muskogee, Oklahoma, was short on donations and would be closing within three months if donations didn't increase. Within days people began to call the Home asking how they can help. "When the story broke, all we could do was sit and answer the phone," said Joan Brown, Director of the home. "I've never experienced anything like it." Soon, other media outlets picked up the story. It was covered by the Daily Oklahoman Newspaper out of Oklahoma City, Channel 9 and Channel 6 out of Oklahoma City and the Tulsa World. Associated Press picked up the story and people as far away as Oregon were calling and sending donations. Numerous people on the internet forwarded it to friends and family and posted it on their websites. "December donations were double the usual amount, totaling $80,000.00," said Brown. "We were able to get caught up on past bills and also pay December bills." Albert Old Crow (Southern Cheyenne) read the Native Times story about the Murrow Indian Children's Home in need of financial support and decided to do something about it. Old Crow is one of the hosts on the radio program "Beyond Bows and Arrows" which airs on Sunday's in the Dallas, Texas area. He read the story on the air and raised funds that he and his staff hand delivered to the Home "It was forwarded to me and it touched my heart," said Old Crow, who is originally from Hammon, Oklahoma. "I felt we needed to do something, however small it is we needed to do something." Based in Muscogee, Oklahoma, the Children's Murrow Home has been providing a residential home program to needy children from tribes across Oklahoma for over 100 years. Soon After the Civil War, Rev. J.S. Murrow, enterprising missionary in Indian Territory, began taking orphan and homeless Indian children into his home. Originally, seventy-five percent of their funds came from Church donations, the remainder from private donations and a small percentage from tribes. But donations directed to the Murrow Home had decreased because of the recent, national catastrophies, including the tsunami and recent hurricanes. Before the story ran, Joan told the Native Times that they ran approximately $30 thousand short in 2006. "We need at least $35 thousand a month but a lot of the times donations don't cover it," Brown told the Native Times. Joan had done everything possible to cut corners and save money but she told the Native Times in December that they were on a three-month basis. "If we don't increase our funding, we are going to have to close in three months," she said. They tried to save money by going to local churches for donations. They even tried to save money by getting little things like toothpaste donated to them. As a last resort, Joan had let some of her staff members go. "We were down to a skeleton crew," she said. "It was getting scary." When the story broke that the Home was in financial trouble, Muscogee Creek Councilmember, Duke Harjo heard the news and contacted Councilmember Pete Beaver who heads the committee for special projects. Harjo sponsored a resolution to authorize a special appropriation to Murrow Indian Children's Home to "continue providing services to citizens and prevent the facility from closing." Harjo and his three brothers lived in the Home in 1956. Co-sponsors of the bill were: P. Beaver; E. LaGrone; R. Cleghorn; L. Wind; K. Johnson; R. Jones; and S. Alexander. Every councilmember agreed with Harjo and voted unanimously to fund the home $100,000.00 to continue services. Many of the Murrow Home kids come from homes where they have been severely abused. Joan describes some of the worst cases where the children who first arrive have trouble sleeping, especially during the hours that bars close. These children are used to alcoholic relatives coming home at that hour. Some children sleep in their clothes. "These abandoned, abused, or neglected children are deeply troubled and, in some cases, the state agencies have given up on them," Brown explains. "But each one is a child of God and we don't give up on them." Murrow's four cottages can serve about 18 children at a time, ranging in age from 8 to 18 years of age. And because of the adult per child ratio of 1 to 6, it is a much better option to provide healing than a boarding school which has a ratio of 1 to 40. country. "You've really done something," Joan told Native Times. ""We have more resources now and possibilities to continue receiving the funds we need in the future. It's never been this exciting in all the years I've worked here." To send donations to the Children's Home, call or write to: Murrow Indian Children's Home 2540 Murrow Circle Muskogee, Ok 74403 918-682-2586 Native American Times. Copyright c. 2005 All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: American Indian center plans approved" --------- Date: Mon, 29 Jan 2007 08:29:44 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="OKLAHOMA INDIAN CENTER" http://www.iii.co.uk/news/?type=afxnews&articleid=5948274& subject=general&action=article American Indian center plans approved January 25, 2007 OKLAHOMA CITY (AFX) - Plans for a $135 million American Indian museum incorporate the natural elements of earth, wind and fire and include stones from the states where tribes once lived before they were forced to walk to Oklahoma during the Trail of Tears. Members of the Native American Cultural and Education Authority approved plans during a board meeting Wednesday. The design includes grand halls full of interactive exhibits, sweeping promenades and courtyards honoring the 39 federally recognized tribes in Oklahoma. The first phase of construction is expected to be completed in 2009. The design by Ralph Appelbaum Associates also features exhibits in which American Indians from Oklahoma would tell the stories of their tribe and their heritage. There will be a courtyard that will include lighted pillars that will include flutes, which will make a sound when wind blows through the area. In a large grassy area inside the promenade, a fire pit will be constructed. "This has the potential to be the most important regional facility in the country," Ralph Appelbaum said. His architectural firm is a leader in cultural museum design. The company's portfolio includes Country Music Hall of Fame, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and the Clinton Presidential Library. The Native American Cultural and Educational Authority recently approved a contract with a consultant who will do a study on how to raise money for the cultural center. The center has about $50 million for design and construction. That money includes a combination of state, federal and city funds. Construction is scheduled in phases that will begin as money becomes available. In December, piers were put into the ground at the construction site and work to prepare the site is ongoing. Copyright c. 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. Copyright c. Interactive Investor 2007, London UK. --------- "RE: Dole resurrects Lumbee Bill" --------- Date: Tue, 23 Jan 2007 08:20:02 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="LUMBEE RECOGNITION" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.robesonian.com/articles/2007/01/22/news/news/story07.txt Dole resurrects Lumbee bill By Mark Locklear - Staff writer January 22, 2007 WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole, following the footsteps of Rep. Mike McIntyre in the U.S. House, reintroduced the Lumbee recognition bill on Thursday. "I am proud to take up this fight alongside the Lumbees and to advocate for the recognition they rightfully deserve," Dole said in a statement. "The Lumbee Tribe has been unfairly deprived full federal recognition for more than a century. As a result, the tribe has been denied the education, health care and economic development opportunities that would significantly benefit not just the tribe, but also the regional economy." Dole first introduced the Lumbee recognition bill in February 2003, soon after she was sworn in. The bill made it out the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs last year, but never made it to a floor vote. Dole's bill has two co-sponsors, Sens. Richard Burr of North Carolina, a Republican, and Daniel Inouye of Hawaii, a Democrat. McIntyre re- introduced the House version of the bill on Jan. 4. The bill, if approved, provides $473 million to the tribe over four years for housing, education, health and economic development. "For me, this issue has always been about fairness," Dole said. "The Lumbees have waited more than 50 years to receive the federal recognition they deserve. I will continue to work with the Lumbees to resolve this issue. "Simply put, this is about righting a wrong ... and allowing future generations of Lumbees to benefit from the recognition for which their ancestors have fought tirelessly." Lumbee leaders welcomed the news Thursday night during the swearing-in ceremony for Chairman Jimmy Goins and council members. "We are grateful for the dedication and support of Sen. Dole, Sen. Burr and Sen. Inouye," Goins said. "I personally feel that the 110th Congress will be the Congress that corrects the grave injustice done to the Lumbee tribal members by the 1956 Lumbee Act." Lumbees were recognized by the state in 1885 and began their quest for federal recognition three years later. In 1956, Congress passed the Lumbee Act, but the tribe was denied the full benefits that other federally recognized tribe receives. The Lumbee Tribe is the largest American Indian tribe east of the Mississippi River and the largest non-federally recognized tribe in the United States. Representatives with McIntyre, Dole, and Burr's office attended the swearing-in ceremony at the Southeastern N.C. Agricultural Center/ Farmers Market. Copyright c, 2007 The Robesonian. --------- "RE: Gale Norton told: Reverse Recognition or be fired" --------- Date: Fri, 26 Jan 2007 08:40:49 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SCHAGHTICOKE RECOGNITION REVERSAL" http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096414403 Gale Norton told: Reverse recognition or be fired by: Gale Courey Toensing / Indian Country Today January 26, 2007 WASHINGTON - Two months after the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation received federal recognition in 2004, then-Interior Department Secretary Gale Norton attended a meeting at which a powerful congressman threatened to use his influence at the White House to get her fired if she did not reverse the tribe's federal status, court documents have revealed. The congressman was Republican Frank Wolf of Virginia, who is known in Indian country as no friend of the nations. There were plenty of witnesses to the politically-charged threat, which took place at a meeting in late March 2004 at Connecticut Republican Rep. Christopher Shays' office. Attending were other Connecticut congressmen, who themselves had vociferously lobbied Interior and the White House against the Schaghticokes' federal recognition and, in what may reflect a case of collective projection, had accused the BIA of political influence and corruption in recognizing the tribe. "During that meeting, Representative Frank Wolf, a member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee and one of the principal opponents of Indian gaming in Congress, threatened to go the President to have Secretary Norton removed from her job if she did not reverse the Tribe's Positive Final Determination," attorneys for the tribe wrote in a Jan. 12 brief for the tribe's appeal of the BIA's unprecedented reversal of its own previous decision. The appeal is filed in Connecticut federal court and names the Secretary of Interior (now Dirk Kempthorne), Interior, Associate Deputy Secretary James Cason, the BIA, the Office of Federal Acknowledgement and the Interior Board of Indian Appeals as defendants. It asks the court to restore the tribe's federal acknowledgement, citing violations of due process and improper political influence by Connecticut politicians and their surrogates, including an anti-Indian group called Town Action to Save Kent, and its White House-connected lobbyist, Barbour Griffith & Rogers. Norton tried to downplay Wolf's threat, the attorneys said, but noted that "she returned to the Department and told her underlings about it - an action that ensured, if nothing else, that others within the Department became aware of Rep. Wolf's disapproval of the Tribe's recognition and his threat to pursue it if not reversed." Norton's revelation emerged in early January when she and Cason were questioned under oath by the tribe's attorneys. As a result of their testimony, attorneys have asked the court to allow questioning of TASK and BGR, and to review documents Norton said she took home with her when she left Interior last March. Government lawyers stopped the tribal attorneys from seeing the documents. Norton said she was actively involved in the tribe's Final Determination, which she approved in January 2004. She also stood by the BIA's decision to use state recognition in the process. "She testified that she and the members of the staff handling that recognition decision made a considered policy judgment that, as a matter of constitutional principles of federalism, the Tribe's hundreds of years of State recognition merited important consideration in the recognition process. Ms. Norton also asserted that, to this day, she believes that she and her staff made a fair and reasonable decision in issuing the Positive Final Determination recognizing the tribe," the attorneys wrote. Cason, who wrote in an affidavit that he was "the ultimate decision maker for decisions issued under the federal acknowledgement regulations," signed off on the Reconsidered Final Determination that quashed the tribe's acknowledgment in October 2005. In an argument that defied logic, the RFD rejected state recognition as valid supplemental evidence for both the Schaghticoke and Eastern Pequots, whose federal recognition was rescinded on the same day. Cason testified - "mistakenly," the attorneys said - that he had to reverse the tribe's recognition because the Interior Board of Indian Appeals had vacated the positive decision and sent it back to the BIA "for further work and reconsideration." He said that he based the recognition reversal "entirely on the recommendation and advice of [OFA Director] Lee Fleming," given at a meeting held on Oct. 5, 2005. Despite the fact that the Schaghticoke decision would set a BIA precedent and be of historic importance not only to the tribe, but throughout Indian country, Cason said he did not take notes during the oral presentation. David Bernhardt, Norton's then-deputy chief of staff; Barbara Coen, an attorney in Interior's Solicitor's Office; and others attended the meeting. Everyone participated in the deliberative process, Cason said, but he "could not recall the names of any of the other Interior employees who reported to him and advised him during that meeting," the attorneys wrote. Since Cason denied any direct outside influence, the attorneys have asked the court to allow them to interview Fleming, Bernhardt and Coen to see if any outside influences affected them. "Just as improper political pressure directed at the final 'decision maker' will invalidate the decision, political pressure directed at agency staff members, political advisors, and legal advisors who participate in the deliberative process will also invalidate the decision," the attorneys said. In arguing for further testimony, the attorneys said Fleming was "aware of and subject to Congressional pressure aimed at overturning the Tribe's Positive Final Domination." They pointed to congressional hearings where Connecticut officials cited the Schaghticoke recognition in trashing the BIA's process as "fatally flawed, lawless, and illogical," and where Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal asked Congress to abolish the OFA, impose a moratorium on all recognitions and investigate the BIA. Fleming experienced direct political pressure from former Connecticut Republican Rep. Nancy Johnson, who tried to stage a press conference while giving Interior officials petitions about the Schaghticoke recognition. "This is a PR ploy," Fleming said in an e-mail to colleagues. "I view this as pressure from an elected official. The federal acknowledgement process is not a popularity contest or poll." Copyright c. 1998 - 2007 Indian Country Today. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Navajo Marine given Conscientious-objector Status" --------- Date: Fri, 26 Jan 2007 08:40:49 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MARINE COMMANDANT REVERSES DECISION" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_5081755 Navajo Marine given conscientious-objector status By Electa Draper Denver Post Staff Writer Denver Post January 25, 2007 Durango - The Marine commandant reversed his earlier decision Wednesday and granted conscientious-objector status to Pvt. Ronnie Tallman, a 19- year-old Navajo from Tuba City, Ariz. Tallman believes his newfound calling as a medicine man makes it impossible for him to go to Iraq without spiritually harming himself and his community. Tallman learned late Wednesday afternoon that Gen. James T. Conway reversed a Jan. 13 decision denying Tallman a discharge. Tallman said he expected to be released within three weeks. "The commandant himself overturned it, saying he had new evidence," Tallman said from his post at Twentynine Palms, Calif. "I'm really relieved my voice has been heard. There was a lot of grief and heartache before I was heard." While home on leave in November 2005, Tallman said, he underwent a spiritual experience and discovered he had been given the gift of a sacred entity known as teehn leii. The gift is a rare form of spiritual diagnosing and healing called hand-trembling that runs in Tallman's family. However, the gift can neither be acquired or predicted - it is simply and suddenly bestowed, according to Navajo tradition. Navajo spiritual law also holds that Tallman cannot keep the power and serve his people if he participates in killing or war. The Dine Hataalii Association, an organization of medicine men recognized by the Navajo Nation, licensed Tallman as a hand-trembler diagnostician. And Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr. wrote a letter urging Tallman's discharge because "our gifted medicine people are small in numbers." Tallman's application for conscientious-objector status received recommendations for approval from several Marine officers over the course of a year before reaching the Conscientious Objector Status Screening Board under the commandant. Conway nevertheless disapproved the application, writing that Tallman had failed to provide convincing evidence that his beliefs were "sincere and deeply held." Tallman attorney Steve Boos of Durango said he believes a request last week for review of the case in federal court caused the commandant to re- examine the application. "Our concern had always been that the folks in Washington, D.C., hadn't sat down and talked with Ronnie the same way the officers at Twentynine Palms, who had recommended approval, had done," Boos said. Copyright c. 2007 Denver Post. --------- "RE: Indian educator looks to continue helping" --------- Date: Fri, 26 Jan 2007 08:40:49 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="HELPING INDIAN STUDENTS" http://nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=8547 Indian educator looks to continue helping Indian students MUSCOGEE OK By Gerald Wofford January 25, 2007 When Kyle Taylor talks about being 'Indian' he knows what he's talking about, or how Taylor likes to phrase it sometimes 'bein' N-dan'. Taylor is Pawnee, and Choctaw and was raised and learned to walk in two worlds, a traditionalist who danced and competed at California, Kansas and Oklahoma Pow-Wows. Taylor also sat in the pews and under the tutelage of his Mother, Laura who gave him an understanding of a higher power through a book called the Bible. But Taylor was raised on the west coast, in the San Francisco area to be exact. Taylor's family being a product of the Indian removal act of the 1950's, who grew up at a time when a lot of the social change was beginning to happen in the nation and the modern American Indian identity was also being shaped. Taylor's understanding and acceptance of both worlds has enabled to help Indians from all over the country where today he serves as the Director of Native Concerns and Recruitment at Bacone College in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Taylor has served in the position for two years. He says "the doors" began to open for him after his service as a Pastor where he took several ministering teams to reservations around the country. "Leroy Thompson of the College asked me to help with a spirituality conference. They (college) asked me back to help with the Indian students commencement services that year. Dr. Duncan who is the President of the college called me later and asked if I would be interested in serving and teaching classes. I felt the Lord was leading me in this direction." Taylor took on the duties of teaching at first, conducting the classes of 'Indian Song and Dance as well as Language'. Taylor has always had a desire to help Indian students, it may have all started when he served as President of the American Indian Student Association at the University of Oklahoma during the years of 1980 through 82. Taylor saw how the Indian student was dealing with issues such as drugs and promiscuity, "we had deep spiritual issues to face at that time, " says Taylor when thinking about how hard it was for some Indian students to obtain a college degree. An identity crises was also on the horizon for American Indian students, it had been more than a decade before that the state school had done away with the University mascot called Little Red. The symbolic sporting mascot had been celebrated at football games with a Native American dancer who would dance in the end zone after a touchdown was scored. Plans were being made to consider bringing back the colorful symbol after school alumni met with University officials about the matter. Taylor was serving as President and oversaw the historic meeting when the issue of Little Red was on the meeting's agenda. The Indian Association was meeting at the cultural center or 'Indian House' at the time. The building wasn't exactly the ideal place to meet. "We had one of the largest meetings ever at the Indian House and one of the Oklahoma City stations was shooting live during the meeting and asked me for a comment, which I didn't give them. We had already met with University officials and were s ettled on the issue." Taylor knew there was no need to make the controversy even worse, because there were so many people on both sides of the argument. Even Native Americans were not all united in which side to support. In fact, Taylor mentions that the group that wanted to bring back Little Red was comprised of some Indians as well. Looking back, Taylor says the experience helped him to see how learning institutions as well as society in general were beginning to embrace Indian identity and even more respect and support would begin to happen. "At that time, we were at the tail end of the civil rights movement," says Taylor. "People that had began the movement in its earliest stage were now beginning to be in positions to change policies. That's when we began to see language programs and more Native American activities at schools and places of learning." The University of Oklahoma even opened a Native American fraternity house and in many Colleges, Native American commencements are held for graduating students and are more common, where twenty years ago they were virtually unheard of. Today, Taylor is continuing to help Indian students at Bacone, recently the college announced a new scholarship opportunity for Native Americans. The 'Students of Promise' is scholarship program for American Indian students which includes a 35 percent tuition, room and board to any Indian student new to Bacone College, for more information contact Taylor at #(918) 360-1085. Native American Times. Copyright c. 2005 All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Bills seek to check Tribal Casino Expansion" --------- Date: Sun, 28 Jan 2007 12:41:28 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MISSISSIPPI SEEKS TO CONTROL CASINO GROWTH" http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/815441/ bills_seek_to_check_tribal_casino_expansion/index.html?source=r_science Bills Seek to Check Tribal Casino Expansion By Tom Wilemon, The Sun Herald, Biloxi, Miss. January 26, 2007 BILOXI - Two bills introduced this legislative session would put more checks and balances on the expansion of tribal casinos in Mississippi. Plans by the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians to put a casino in a county in which gambling is illegal spurred the legislation. The bills would add one more hurdle to what opponents call "reservation shopping," by which the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs allows tribes to open casinos beyond historic reservation lands. The two casinos the Choctaws currently operate are on their historic reservation near Philadelphia. The tribe has asked the federal agency to allow it to open a third casino in Jackson County, where it owns and operates a printing plant. Tribes must negotiate compacts with governors for there to be Vegas- style slots. One bill also would require the approval of a special legislative subcommittee. The other would require the approval of the Mississippi Gaming Commission as well as the subcommittee. The bills have the support of the state's largest religious denomination. "Basically, it's just another safety on the gun," said Lee Yancey, senior consultant with the Christian Action Commission of the Mississippi Baptist Convention. "It's just another way to prevent the reservation shopping that has become so prevalent in our country." Yancey acknowledged Gov. Haley Barbour has gone on record as being opposed to the expansion of gambling into Jackson County. "The fear for those of us who don't want a casino in Jackson County is there might be a governor who would concur," Yancey said. The tribe has begun preparing an environmental-impact statement for the land near Interstate 10 on which it would put a casino. It has asked the Jackson County Board of Supervisors to put their casino proposal before voters in a non-binding referendum that would coincide with the 2008 presidential election. Opponents of the casino, including a group of clergy from Jackson County, are considering asking supervisors to hold a referendum sooner. They believe the casino would be voted down. The tribe has said it would abide by the wishes of Jackson County residents. Copyright c. 2007, The Sun Herald, Biloxi, Miss. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News. Copyright c. 2002-2007 redOrbit.com. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: New Salish Blanket woven, celebrated" --------- Date: Sunday, January 28, 2007 06:43 pm From: Peter Webster Subj: New Salish blanket woven, celebrated Mailing List: Rez_Live http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/ 2003544881_blanket28m.html Blanket brings "sacred change" By Lynda V. Mapes Seattle Times staff reporter January 28, 2007 OLYMPIA - With prayer and song, tribal members from around the region Saturday named and blessed the first known hand-twined mountain-goat- hair blanket made in Puget Sound country in generations. The art was retained by a few master weavers, including the late Bruce Miller, a Skokomish spiritual leader known as subiyay, who passed the art on to his apprentice, Susan Pavel. Pavel, who made the blanket, brought it out in a joyous ceremony at the longhouse at The Evergreen State College. The one-of-a-kind blanket will hang in the new addition of the Seattle Art Museum, which is scheduled to open in May. "A blanket like this made from mountain-goat hair probably has not been made in 100 years," said Barbara Brotherton, curator of Native American Art at the Seattle Art Museum. "She is bringing back a most ancient style of weaving." The blanket's Indian name, which means Sacred Change for Each Other, is as much a mission as a name, said Delbert Miller, a spiritual leader of the Skokomish people. "It is a sacred change for everyone, from a people that nearly lost everything, to a people that is coming together." The blanket is a triumph of an ongoing quiet renaissance in Coast Salish weaving carried on by Indian and non-Indian weavers from Vancouver Island to Puget Sound and the Washington coast. "One of the great acts of survival is to adapt Salish weaving that had waned for quite a period of time," said Michael Pavel, Susan's husband and Miller's nephew. Michael Pavel spent 12 years gathering the wool for the blanket, tuft by tuft. It took Susan Pavel about six months to weave it. "Our culture was essentially dismembered; our elders and leaders had been decimated by a variety of diseases and the ill effects of the introduction of modern society," Michael Pavel said. "The people's understanding of the blankets was still there, they carried the prayers of the people, they kept the people warm. "Uncle was adamant; he said we are weavers of blankets. Susan really took it on, and understood that, and it was the beginning of a great renaissance. It's just one more attempt to retain our greatness through the aboriginal and indigenous aspects of our culture. This is part of our generation's effort to reclaim our identity." The blanket was presented in a procession of weavers from the region, each wearing woolen vests, dresses and other regalia they wove themselves. "It's something I never thought I would see in my lifetime," said Susan Pavel, who, as a weaving teacher, had hoped to attend an event at which people wore regalia they had woven. After the procession, the blanket was wrapped around honored elders, one at a time, amid song and prayer. "I feel like I'm in heaven," said Fran James, 83, a Lummi master weaver and one of the elders honored with wearing the thick, soft blanket. At about 15 pounds, the blanket was so heavy James and other elders wore it seated. "It has so much energy, you could feel it has so much meaning," James said. Lynda V. Mapes: 206-464-2736 or lmapes@seattletimes.com Copyright c. 2006 The Seattle Times Company Peter Webster peterweb@bendnet.com http://disturbingthecomfortable.blogspot.com/ --------- "RE: Relocation of Alaska Native Villages" --------- Date: Tuesday, January 23, 2007 01:00 pm From: ghwelker3@comcast.net Subj: Alaska Natives Mailing List: Indigenous Peoples Literature http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/ article/2006/12/29/AR2006122901904.html Alaska Natives Relocation of Villages Has Financial and Other Costs By Rachel d'Oro Associated Press December 31, 2006 NEWTOK, Alaska - The last time chronic flooding forced this tiny Alaska village to relocate, sled dogs pulled the old church to its new home three miles away, far from the raging Ninglick River. That was in 1950, when life was simpler in Newtok, mostly a collection of traditional sod dwellings. Modern structures gradually took over the new site as the river again crept to the edge of the Yupik community. Persistent erosion has eaten an average of 70 feet of bank a year, and now melting permafrost is subsiding, further subjecting the village to severe flooding from intensifying storms. "This place is sinking," said Joseph Tommy, 48, who was born in Newtok. "If the erosion keeps on coming, we will be in a grave situation." So, once again, Newtok must move, leaving residents and officials grappling with an unprecedented crisis that looms over scores of native villages along Alaska's increasingly battered western coast. These once-nomadic people can no longer pack up and go. The crucial difference this time: finding the funds to move and to replace millions of public dollars invested in schools, clinics and government offices. Replacement costs are beyond the reach of these remote, cash-strapped communities that typically rely on subsistence foods for economic survival - and they are costs that no single federal or state entity is equipped to shoulder. "We've become complicated with the rest of the world," Nick Tom, Newtok's former tribal administrator, said as he led visitors through mud and snow, pointing out shifting houses and the crumbled soil fringing the Ninglick. "We can't even move an inch without any money." It is a problem taking on a new urgency as the effects of climate change escalate in a region many consider a harbinger of global warming. Erosion and flooding are nothing new here, but communities are increasingly vulnerable to melting permafrost and shorter periods of the shorefast ice that historically protected them from powerful storms. Erosion and flooding affect to some degree 184 of 213 Alaska Native villages, or 86 percent, according to a 2003 report by the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is trying to determine which communities need the most help from a network of state and federal agencies. "When there is a problem that develops over years and decades, such as Alaskan erosion, the perception of urgency is not as acute," said Bruce Sexauer, a senior planner with the corps. "The impacts of a hurricane can be felt nationwide, whereas similar situations in remote communities are oftentimes only known by a select few." Newtok and two other western Alaska villages, Shishmaref and Kivalina, face the shortest life spans at their current locations. Some officials believe conditions are most urgent in Newtok, tightly wedged between two rivers. The vast, rushing Ninglick has cut into the smaller Newtok River, turning it into a slough. This is the historical sewage dumping place for Newtok's 315 residents, who have no indoor plumbing and use buckets as toilets. Compounding the problem, fall storms send flood waters surging through the Ninglick and up the Newtok, turning the village into an island, said Brenda Kerr, the corps's Newtok planner, part of a new multiagency effort exploring possible actions. "The water is scary enough in and of itself, and then you consider what's in it. The public health concern is probably one of the biggest triggers here," Kerr said. Newtok is ahead of other villages facing impending moves, having completed a federal land trade in 2004 for a hilly area called Mertarvik on Nelson Island, nine miles to the south. But that is just on paper. The Corps of Engineers estimates that moving would cost as much as $130 million, or more than $412,000 per resident. That price tag reflects the challenge of carrying some existing structures and tons of construction supplies to undeveloped tundra - there are no roads here, no landing strip and no barge landing for large vessels - to build a community from the ground up. "The land swap was successful. It's the move that will cost us money," said Stanley Tom, Newtok's acting tribal administrator and Nick Tom's brother. About 370 miles to the north, the relocation cost would be even steeper for Shishmaref, an Inupiat village of 600 located on a narrow island just north of the Bering Strait. Estimates run as high as $200 million to start from scratch with new infrastructure - or about half that amount to move residents to the coastal hub towns of Nome or Kotzebue. Ultimately, multimillion-dollar projects to protect or move a few isolated people must be justified, especially post-Katrina. But it is not the government's role to bankroll the entire cost of building a new community, officials said. "I think there's very little likelihood that the federal government or the state government could come up with $150 million to say, 'Okay, Shishmaref or Newtok or Kivalina, we're going to move you next year,' " said Gary Brown, a member of the state's emergency management office. "When you look at the numbers, it's kind of staggering, but if a community can figure out a way through the maze of political processes to do it incrementally, it might be more palatable." Joining another community is unacceptable, said Shishmaref village transportation planner Tony Weyiouanna, who has lobbied hard for state and federal funding. In their nomadic past, natives generally stayed within a certain region. Today, they hunt the same animals as their ancestors, create their artwork with the same materials, know the land intimately. Being absorbed into another culture, even one only 100 miles away, could amount to cultural death, exposing residents to urban ills such as alcohol, which is banned in Shishmaref and other dry villages. Residents fear the subsistence lifestyle their traditions and economy so heavily rely on would end, pushing them into welfare. "We would like to keep our traditions and values as long as we can for the future of our children and grandchildren," Weyiouanna said. The cultural erosion he and others dread has other causes, too. Even without relocations, technology has brought a global media influence to even the most isolated villages. Elders say young people suffer a disconnect that gets some of the blame for chronic problems in native society - alcoholism, suicide, domestic violence and high dropout rates. But Alaska Natives, who represent 11 distinct cultures and 20 languages, are fighting back. They are hosting culture camps and rural student exchanges. Villages have resurrected dances and festivals that were banned a century ago by missionaries. Schools have launched native language- immersion programs. Debra Dommek sees herself as a tribal elder-in-training even though she is only 18. She learned about ancient arts, focusing on dance, in an after-school program run by the Alaska Native Heritage Center in Anchorage. Now it is her responsibility, she said, to preserve the songs and dances, art and stories of indigenous Alaskans, including her people, Inupiats. "This is who I am, who my children will be," Dommek said. "Sometimes I feel pressure taking on such a position, but somebody's got to do it." --------- "RE: YELLOW BIRD: Tolerance should be accepted" --------- Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2007 08:36:31 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="YELLOW BIRD: TOLERANCE" http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=24862 §ion=columnists&columnist=Dorreen%20Yellow%20Bird&freebie_check &CFID=16473249&CFTOKEN=72332277&jsessionid=8830efaeafe064491535 Tolerance should be accepted Dorreen Yellow Bird January 24, 2007 Why is calling someone with a different sexual orientation a name not like calling someone fat, a slacker or a nerd? Calling someone a "fag" in a derogatory reference to sexual orientation certainly fits the category of name-calling. According to a Minneapolis Star Tribune story, "Parents protest school event's tie to gay-rights group," parents of Farmington Middle School East in Farmington, Minn., are concerned that the school's "No name-calling week" of Jan. 22-26 will introduce or promote gay and lesbian lifestyles. The school is grappling with how to answer some irate parents who see problems with the "No name-calling week." These parents are protesting not because they approve of bullying or harassment, but, I suspect, because they disapprove of who is being bullied or harassed. Their problem lies with an organization called Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, which sponsored some of the curriculum being used for the week. The group does promote tolerance for gay and lesbian students, but it also provides information about the broad issue of name-calling, harassment and bullying. These broad issues are what the school is focusing on. Unfortunately, name-calling and bullying seem to be a sign of the times. Schools throughout the nation struggle with bullying or harassment in schools. Name-calling and harassment have sparked fights, beatings and even school shootings. The trend for harassment and bullying among students in schools today caused staff at Farmington Middle School East to survey students to see how many of them have been harassed or bullied. Amazingly, 75 percent of the students surveyed said they experienced some kind of bullying or name- calling while in or near school. So, it seems the staff at Farmington Middle School East was right to undertake a program to teach tolerance and respect. But the agenda that the school has laid out for the students isn't what the angry parents probably suspect. I read through the school's agenda for "No name-calling" week, and there isn't one mention of gay or lesbian lifestyles in the weeklong lesson plan. The agenda talks mostly about students making disparaging remarks to each other about everyday items such as clothing, body weight, grades, interests and so on. The number, if any, of gay and lesbian students at Farmington Middle School East is unknown. Judging by the age of the students, it probably isn't a common issue, either. Yet, these young people don't live in a bubble. They have encountered people who are gay or lesbian. That's not new to them. So, understanding these issues could be included in their agenda. It is unfortunate that some parents are setting an example for their children of disrespect and intolerance. These parents are saying by example there is only one lifestyle to be tolerated and respected. Families have the right to disapprove of the lifestyle of gays and lesbians. But don't they also have the responsibility to teach their children tolerance and respect for differences? The irony is that we are exposed to different lifestyles at every turn. It's common to see movies and TV shows in which gay characters play important roles; they're an accepted part of the scene. Marriage and relationships between people of different races used to be looked down upon, but today we think little about such things. We live in a new age in which we can see into the lives and worlds of our neighbors. Countries that we only read about come into our homes through television every day. Many of these countries also have different lifestyles - things that we might find appalling, yet are commonplace to the residents there. In that same vein, other countries might find our lifestyles outlandish and awful. Farmington is teaching its children to be understanding and respectful of other people's differences, and that is a good goal for any school. ---- Dorreen Yellow Bird is a reporter and columnist. Her columns appear Wednesdays and Saturdays on the opinion pages of the Herald. Reach her at (701) 780-1228 or dyellowbird@gfherald.com Copyright c. 2006 Grand Forks Herald, Forum Communications Co., Fargo ND. --------- "RE: HARJO: Order in House needed for Indian Affairs" --------- Date: Fri, 26 Jan 2007 08:40:49 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="HARJO: INDIAN ISSUES HANDELED IN UNSTRUCTURED MANNER" http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096414411 Harjo: Order in the House needed for Indian affairs by: Suzan Shown Harjo / Indian Country Today January 26, 2007 The House of Representatives dismantled its longstanding Committee on Indian Affairs in 1946, as strident special interests were trying to end federal/tribal treaty and trust relationships and to force Indians to cash out land, water, minerals and other resources. Today, more than 60 years later, Indian issues are still handled on an unstructured, ad hoc basis in the House Resources Committee, where they are subject to the same competing interests. The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs was abolished in 1946, too, but the upper chamber reinstated it as a select panel in 1977 and made it permanent in 1984. What else was happening in 1946, when Congress disestablished its Indian committees? For one thing, it established the Indian Claims Commission that year. Indian people who knew about the ICC were led to believe that it was a forum for redress of grievances and reparations for unconscionable land deals. Some of the ICC law's sponsors spoke of justice and legal equities. Others said it was a way to wipe the slate clean. Lawyers said, "Goody," and took from 40 percent to 90 percent of ICC monetary awards. Native Americans were shocked when decades later, the Supreme Court ruled that a treaty claim for land had already been decided by the ICC and that acceptance of the pennies-an-acre payment settled and extinguished claims for tangible resources. In the World War II years, Congress was looking for lands to use as bombing practice ranges, for munitions storage and as atomic and nuclear test sites. From the Aleutian Islands to Arizona, from North Dakota to Texas and from Maine to Florida, Indian lands were being used for those military purposes and even as detention camps for Japanese Americans and for German prisoners of war. When the House and Senate got rid of their Indian committees, they assigned jurisdiction over Indian subcommittees to the Public Lands panels, which became the Interior and Insular Affairs Committee. They might as well have been Indian resources shopping malls. Congress ordered the BIA to make lists of tribes that were "ready" for termination of the federal/tribal relationship. The BIA came up with one list of tribes whose people were Christians, spoke English, were racially more non-Indian than Indian and who were mostly economically self-sufficient. Another list included those who practiced their traditional religion, spoke their heritage language, were racially Indian and lived in poverty. A third list included tribes in between. While all that was going on, the House Un-American Activities Committee was preoccupied with the hunt for communists in various segments of American society. Some of its members looked askance at the Roosevelt New Dealers, including the Indian New Dealers, and started characterizing Indian reservations as "socialistic." Some HUAC members sponsored the ICC legislation and helped end the Indian affairs committees. And bankers, loggers, oil and gas companies, mining interests and land developers lined up in the hallways with their own termination wish lists. In the 1970s, Interior Committee Chairman Morris K. Udall, D-Ariz., took Indian affairs into the full committee, in order to get rid of a subcommittee that had become a magnet for anti-Indian, anti-treaty forces nationwide. Udall's system, as he explained it to a few of us at the National Congress of American Indians, was to floor manage many bills himself and to call on nonconflicted committee members to manage one bill each in a two-year Congress. For example, he had a dicey water issue in his state, so a New York representative shepherded that matter from start to finish. Many pro-Indian legislators answered Udall's call and made a batch of good laws. Some members are still in Congress and still doing more than their share of the work of the House on Indian matters. Udall was a tireless advocate and his system worked well for as long as his stamina matched his commitment. When he became ill with Parkinson's disease and started slowing down, so did progress on Indian legislation. Interior became the Natural Resources Committee in 1993 and an Indian subcommittee was established for a few years, under the chairmanship of another fine advocate, Rep. Bill Richardson, D-N.M. Now, Indian legislation is handled in the full Resources Committee. The absence of an Indian affairs structure means that Native people have very few points of access to the legislative process. Even members of Congress don't have much control over the federal Indian policy developed in their names. Decisions about substance, timing and progress of legislation are left to a handful of staffers, who can be curt and unavailable to members and Native people alike. It's no wonder that some tribal leaders got sick and tired of being dismissed and disrespected, or just getting nowhere, and hired Team Abramoff and their ilk to go around the Resources Committee to the House leadership. Others, who lacked system-greasing money, were forced to smile and perfect the posture of a supplicant. One Resources Committee staffer went before the NCAI's legislative strategy session, Jan. 23 and 24, and chided the group for bypassing her with the "NCAI-initiated" request for a House Indian committee. The staffer said she received a call about the written request from Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office and was caught off-guard because no one told her anything about it. It was reminiscent of the days in the 1960s and 1970s, when BIA employees would chastise Indian leaders for not checking in with them before going to the Hill (which was an improvement from the days when tribal people were not permitted, and later not expected, to go anywhere in Washington without a BIA escort). Resources Committee Chairman Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., is a soft-spoken, kindly gentleman - not the sort to chide tribal leaders in public or private. It's understandable that he does not want to relinquish committee jurisdiction or staff positions, especially after spending many years in the Ranking Minority Member position under Republican rule. But the fact that important Native organizations want the House to reinstate the Indian committee should give him pause. NCAI and six other groups have called for a full Indian affairs committee in the House. They also have rejected the idea of an Indian subcommittee within the Resources Committee. Other organizations joining NCAI are the National Indian Business Association, National Indian Education Association, National Indian Gaming Association, National Indian Health Board, National Indian Housing Council and the Native American Rights Fund. Many Native leaders are concerned that former Resources Committee leaders and staffers did not attend last year's meetings with Senate Indian committee and tribal leaders on settlement of the Indian trust funds case. They also say that a House Indian committee might have been able to move the reauthorization of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, which has been stalled since 2001. In a Nov. 30, 2006, letter to Pelosi, Reps. Dale Kildee, D-Mich., and Tom Cole, R-Okla., of the Native American Caucus, wrote: "We have spoken to several of our colleagues who have expressed a strong desire to serve on a House Indian Affairs Committee. There is much work to be done to improve the quality of life for Indian people who still suffer from the highest levels of poverty, unemployment and lack of health care. "Re-establishing a House Committee ... would send a strong signal that the House is ready to tackle the difficult problems facing Native Americans." Kildee and the caucus have saved the day several times on Indian bills, sometimes in the absence of action by the Resources Committee. --- Suzan Shown Harjo, Cheyenne and Hodulgee Muscogee, is president of the Morning Star Institute in Washington, D.C., and a columnist for Indian Country Today. Copyright c. 1998 - 2007 Indian Country Today. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Threatened Amazon Tribes fight against the odds" --------- Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2007 08:36:31 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="AMAZON TRIBES IN PERIL" http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096414383 Threatened Amazon tribes fight against the odds by: Jim Adams / Indian Country Today January 22, 2007 NEW YORK - Facing land theft and even genocide as modern exploiters rush into the Amazon basin and other Brazilian forests, small, isolated Indian tribes are struggling against overwhelming odds. But they are fighting back with increasing vigor; and as they add lawyers to their arsenal of bows and arrows, have begun to score remarkable successes. In recent weeks, the Brazilian legislature passed a legal landmark (unpaving the way, one might say) to protect one of the planet's most endangered forest regions: the Atlantic Mata along its southern coast. Separately, the governor of Para in the Amazon basin created a new tropical rainforest preserve covering more than 58,000 square miles. In addition, federal courts have sided with tribal claims in several suits involving powerful economic interests. One court voided the land titles of 44 ranches near the Xingu Indigenous Park, saying the land sales were fraudulent. The land, more than 1.3 million acres, reverts to the National Foundation for the Indian (FUNAI), the Brazilian equivalent of the BIA, and the National Institution for Agrarian Reform. Some of the suits arose from a wave of occupations by tribal militants, sometimes armed with bows, arrows and sticks. The most recent of these, on Dec. 13, shut down a harbor in the state of Espiritu Santo handling the bulk of the exports of the wood-product company Aracruz Celulose. Members of the Tupiniquim and Guarani tribes accuse the company of occupying 26,000 acres of their land. The decisions can be appealed and reversed, and the legislation might harbor dangerous loopholes, but they are a welcome contrast to the murder- filled rush to exploit Brazil's interior. Unlike the countries of the Andes, where the indigenous population is a majority and increasingly powerful politically, Indians in Brazil are a small minority, often isolated in inland reserves surrounded by a "Wild West" atmosphere of land-clearing and development. Yet they are standing up to some of the country's largest corporations. In one of the most notable confrontations, two communities of Xicrin Indians on Oct. 17 occupied the Carajas, Para state, open-pit mines of the Companhia Vale do Rio Dolce, the world's largest producer of iron ore. The CVRD, an $11 billion corporation, has extensive international contacts; its well-known CEO, Roger Agnelli, sits on the board of directors of the construction giant ABB Ltd. and the North Carolina utility Duke Energy Corp. According to the CVRD account, 200 Xicrin Indians from the communities of Catete and Djudjeko invaded their facility "armed with bows, arrows and sticks." They occupied the rail loop and locomotives and took the keys of the company's commuter buses, holding 600 employees hostage for about two hours. In the two days of the occupation, said the company, it lost 500,000 tons of iron ore production. The origins of the conflict are murky. In February five other tribes tore up tracks of the CVRD-owned Carajas railroad, interrupting its mineral exports. It appears from the charges and countercharges that the tribes feel the company shortchanged it on promised payments in return for use of indigenous land. But the nature of the agreement, or whether there was one, is in dispute. Even the main newspaper in Sao Paolo admitted that it was confused. Declaring it would not bow to "extortion," however, the company cancelled its annual contribution of more than $4 million to the Xicrin Indians. The case went to court. On Dec. 4, 2006, a federal judge ordered the company to resume its payments, noting that it had just reported record profits. Agnelli immediately announced he would appeal. He denounced FUNAI for failing to intervene. He stated that CVRD invested heavily in the environment and health services for Indians but questioned direct payments to the tribes. According to a regional paper, he said, "If you give money to the Indians, then an NGO [nongovernmental organization] comes and says that Indians are dying of heart attacks because with the money you give him, he's buying french fries and his cholesterol level is going up. So I can't give money to an Indian. Fine. So who do I give the money to?" At least one tribe, however, is seeking to emerge from the conflict with a sustainable economic model. The Xavante people in the southern Amazon basin blockaded a national highway in Mato Grosso state in July to protest the impact of soybean cultivation on the Rio das Mortes watershed. But one Xavante village is also beginning to earn royalties by licensing its traditional hunting chant as a cell phone ring tone. Jim Adams is a historian at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian. Copyright c. 1998 - 2007 Indian Country Today. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Collectives agree to organize No Border Camp" --------- Date: Sunday, January 28, 2007 01:39 am From: Chiapas95-english Subj: En;Anarchist Collectives agree to organize No Border Camp,Jan 27 Mailing List: Chiapas95-En This message is forwarded to you by the editors of the Chiapas95 newslists. To contact the editors or to submit material for posting send to: . -------- Original Message -------- Hello! During the Zapatista Encuentro in Chiapas, anarchist and other activist groups took the occasion to meet and organise. In particular, collectives from the USA and Mexico agreed to organise a No Border camp and action this November in Mexicali against the anti-migration Wall on the frontier. This initiative is being taken using the PGA hallmarks as organising principles, see (continued english below). > Welcome to the Anarchist Network! Over a hundred anarchists met during the primer encuentro de los pueblos zapatistas y los pueblos del mundo to begin to discuss and look for common points to promote relations and communication between anarchist collectives and individuals from all over the world. In these meetings we decided to put together a global anarchist network facilitated by an email list, web page, and a bilingual publication. As repression against social movements in general, and anarchists specifically, continues to increase in Mexico and all over the world, it is important for us to support each other while sharing and learning from our diverse experiences. As they globalize repression and terror we will comtinue to search for means to globalize resistance and combat the misery of the state and capitalism. We hope that this network will serve as a practical tool to communicate, organize and promote international solidarity amongst anarchists. - From these meetings held during the encuentro we came up with the following plans/ideas for action: March 15th: International Day of Action Coordinate a global day of action against the repressive forces of the state (police, military, etc...) and for the Freedom of all Political Prisoners. July 2007: Anarchist Encuentro The idea was raised to hold an anarchist gathering before the next a'oeencuentro de los pueblos zapatista con los pueblos del mundoa to be held in early July. Location and exact dates to be decided. November 2007: No Border Camp and coordinated global actions In November 2007 a No Border camp will be held on both sides of the Mexicali-Calexico section of the Mexican-US border to confront the issues surrounding this border and the idea of borders and states worldwide. We discussed coordinating actions world wide around these dates to focus on the global problem of borders, detention centers and a world where people are made illegal while capitalism is globalized. Anarchists from Mexico have also proposed actions highlighting the Mexico-Guatemala border. For more information about the Mexicali-Calexico No Border Camp: http://deletetheborder./org/en/node/1860 This list will be put together in a form that will be open and secure, the following are some basic guidelines for the email list: 1. If you are going to invite individuals, collectives or groups to join the list please send an email to the list administrators letting them know who you invited. 2. Invited individuals, collectives, or groups should write a brief description of their work, project, collective and where they are located when they subscribe to the list. These are basic guidelines, more specific information will follow. We are excited to put this network into practice and look forward to it being a productive tool to coordinate our resistance and promote solidarity amongst anarchists all over the world! LOVE, RAGE and ANARCHY!!! _______________________________________________ A-infos-en mailing list A-infos-en@ainfos.ca http://ainfos.ca/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/a-infos-en http://ainfos.ca/en -- http://freedom.libsyn.com/ Voice of Freedom, Radical Podcast http://freeselfdefence.info/ Self-defence wiki http://www.kingstonstudents.org/ Kingston University students' forum "None of us are free until all of us are free." ~ Mihail Bakunin -- Zapatista archive http://www.struggle.ws/mexico.html Change susbscription options at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZapNews -- To subscribe to this list send a message containing the words subscribe chiapas95 (or chiapas95-lite, or chiapas95-english, or chiapas95-espanol) to majordomo@eco.utexas.edu. Previous messages are available from http://www.eco.utexas.edu/faculty/Cleaver/chiapas95.html or gopher to Texas, University of Texas at Austin, Department of Economics, Mailing Lists. --------- "RE: AFN protests Federal challenge of School Decision" --------- Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2007 08:36:31 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="INDIAN RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS DECISION" http://www.firstperspective.ca/fp_combo_template.php?path=20070123afn AFN protests federal challenge of residential school court decision by Joseph Quesnel January 23, 2007 A national Aboriginal organization is protesting a government decision to contest certain aspects of a Indian residential school class action suit, which may delay final approval for $1.9 billion payment to survivors. "We are very disappointed to learn that the Attorney General of Canada has appealed part of a Regina Court decision to approve the Indian residential school class action lawsuit," said National Chief Phil Fontaine. "We strongly encourage the Government of Canada and the Saskatchewan Court to sever this legal issue so that the $1.9 billion settlement process can proceed without further delay in settlement payments for survivors," he added. "We have now heard from all nine courts. All agree the settlement agreement is fair and just. Some courts have raised some concerns that need to be addressed immediately to ensure survivors get their money in a timely fashion. Compensation payments for the approximately 80,000 residential school survivors should likely begin later this summer." Fontaine also raised that final resolution to the mannter is very important in ensuring the settlement is finalized. "We want to emphasize to the courts and the government the importance of getting this historic settlement completed in a timely matter. Many of the survivors, who are elderly and sick, are dying at a rate of four a day. We all agree we want to see an end to this sad chapter of Canadian history." Finalizing the agreement, he continued, is part of the healing process for those who lived through the school system. "The courts certification also means the Truth Commission will be starting its work next summer. The Truth Commission will ensure that all Canadians will understand the significance of the serious harm done to our people. First Nations are determined to send the message to the world that "Never Again" will such actions be tolerated in Canada." Copyright c. 2007 First Perspective/Manitoba Drum. --------- "RE: Future of Dehcho land plan lies in limbo" --------- Date: Monday, January 22, 2007 07:25 pm From: frostyca2000 Subj: Future of Dehcho land plan lies in limbo Mailing List: Frostys AmerIndian Future of Dehcho land plan lies in limbo CBC News January 22, 2007 The Dehcho land-use plan protects too much land from development and won't be approved as it stands, federal negotiator Tim Christian says. The plan was developed over four years by the Dehcho land-use plan committee and approved by the Dehcho First Nations at its assembly in June. Christian says the federal government wants to dismantle the committee and move discussions about revising the plan to the land claims table. The government's concerns are not technical and do not require the skills of planning committee members to resolve, said Christian, who maintains the current plan contains a confusing regulatory regime. "It doesn't make sense for us to just hand back to the committee issues which we have already raised with the committee," he said in an interview Friday. "They have seen fit not to address these concerns in the past, and therefore the plan, as it's currently drafted, will not be approved." Committee's work far from finished Land-use plan committee executive director Heidi Wiebe says the job of the group will not be completed until the plan has been approved by the federal and territorial governments and properly implemented. "We've built up a lot of capacity, both in terms of understanding of the land and the culture and the resources and the values in the region, but also the priorities of the different planning partners that have been involved," Wiebe said. "While a lot of that information is documented, for somebody else to walk in and pick that up would take a long time." The plan has cost an estimated $4 million to date, she said. Its fate, along with the committee's, will be discussed at the next round of Dehcho land claim negotiations in February. The Dehcho First Nations, which represent 11 communities in the southwest region of the Northwest Territories, is the only aboriginal group without a land claim agreement along the route of the proposed 1,200-kilometre Mackenzie Valley --------- "RE: Metis Hunting Rights" --------- Date: Friday, January 26, 2007 01:24 am From: frostyca2000 Subj: Metis Hunting Rights Mailing List: Frostys AmerIndian Metis Hunting Rights FYI: January 24th, 2007 Alberta govt deal that allows Metis to hunt without licences not enforceable JOHN COTTER EDMONTON (CP) - The Alberta government's deal that allows Metis people the right to hunt and fish without licences is not legally enforceable, a judge has ruled. Justice Gerald Verville of Court of Queen's Bench also set aside the conviction of Kipp Kelley, a Metis hunter who was convicted last year of illegal trapping. "I have found that the Interim Metis Harvesting Agreement is not legally enforceable," Verville wrote in a judgment obtained by The Canadian Press. The trial judge who convicted Kelley last year said that the Metis man could not use the Alberta deal as a defence because he had not shown that he had the right to trap under a Supreme Court ruling on Metis hunting rights. But Verville said that because Alberta signed the Interim Metis Harvesting Agreement in 2004 with Metis leaders, most ordinary people would be under the impression that it was legal to trap without fear of being convicted of an offence. "In these circumstances, I find a conviction would shock the conscience of the community and bring the administration of justice into disrepute," he wrote. "I therefore set aside the conviction." Thomas Rothwell, a lawyer who represented the Alberta government in court, called Verville's findings "serious." He said the province may launch an appeal. "The finding is clear that the agreement is legally unenforceable," Rothwell said Tuesday. "The government is going to review the decision and provide a response." Audrey Poitras, president of the Metis Nation of Alberta, said while the agreement might be legally unenforceable in its current form, the province should make regulatory changes to make it lawful. She said negotiations with the government are already underway for a better Metis Harvesting Agreement. "I believe this decision is not just significant for Alberta," she said. "It is saying to all provinces, 'sit down and negotiate accommodation agreements with the Metis people.' " In 2003 the Supreme Court ruled that Metis living near Sault Ste. Marie, Ont, have the right to hunt and fish for food without a licence. Since then, provincial governments with Metis communities have been grappling with the implications of the so-called Powley decision. Metis hunting rights cases will be before the courts this winter in Ontario and Manitoba. A major Alberta hunting and fishing group applauded Verville's ruling. Randy Collins, president of the Alberta Fish and Game Association, said the judgment will help ensure that wildlife is properly managed in the province. Collins said the hunting agreement was also not fair to people who are not Metis. "I take that the ruling that happened today basically says that the Metis hunting agreement is null and void," Collins said. He said if the government and the Metis want to reach a better agreement, they should include hunting and conservation groups in the negotiations. "They have to go back to the drawing board. Try to hammer something out that would be acceptable to all instead of doing it behind closed doors like it was done the first time." Copyright c. 2007 Winnipeg Free Press. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Passport requirement 'irritates' Mohawks" --------- Date: Friday, January 26, 2007 01:23 am From: frostyca2000 Subj: New passport requirement for U.S. air travel 'irritates' Mohawks Mailing List: Frostys AmerIndian New passport requirement for U.S. air travel 'irritates' Mohawks CBC News January 23, 2007 Members of the Mohawk nation are angry about U.S. travel rules that require Canadians to carry passports for flights south of the border, and say they should be exempt from the rule that took effect Tuesday. Mohawks have been guaranteed unfettered travel over the U.S. border since 1794, when the Jay Treaty, or Treaty of London, was signed between the United States and Great Britain. Today, the Mohawk nation spans Quebec, Ontario and New York, and members are used to moving back and forth with only their status cards or driver's licences, whether travelling by boat, car or plane, said Kenneth Deer, editor of the Eastern Door, a Kahnawake newspaper. "Traditionally we've been able to have free access to our homeland. The Canadian-U.S. border is a recent development in our history." Being forced to carry a Canadian passport is a major "irritant" for Mohawks, Deer told CBC. "We are a nation of people who have been here from time immemorial. The Canadian passport says you declare yourself a Canadian citizen. There is nothing wrong with that, but Mohawks prefer to be Mohawks," he said, adding that he only holds a passport issued by the Six Nations Confederacy. For the moment, passports are only required for air travel to the U.S., but the Department of Homeland Security plans to extend the requirement to land and sea travel by 2008-09. Mohawks hope to develop their own identity card in conjunction with Homeland Security officials before that time, Deer said. The NEXUS Air frequent traveller program, which allows frequent border crossers to pay for pre-screening and security clearance, is not an appropriate solution for Mohawks, he added. For the moment, Mohawks travelling by air will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis at the border, said Mike Milne, a spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection. "If he went in, and was able to identify himself, and was not on any kind of watch list, he would be admitted with the caveat that the next time you come back, you have a passport," Milne told CBC. He added that his department is reviewing concerns presented by "different" groups of people who may not have Canadian passports. According to the Department of Homeland Security, 87 million people cross the U.S. border by air every year, and 309 million make the trip by land. --------- "RE: Crown keeps faltering on 6 Nations Claims" --------- Date: Sunday, January 28, 2007 11:34 pm From: frostyca2000 Subj: Crown keeps faltering on 6 Nations Claims Mailing List: Frostys AmerIndian CROWN KEEPS FALTERING ON 6 NATIONS CLAIMS MNN. Jan. 27, 2006. This is Hazel's update on the goings on at Six Nations: On Thursday we had the main table meeting as scheduled. If you watch CH TV 11, you'll see that the position of the Crown hasn't changed. They've once again utilized the media as a negotiating tool as if to proclaim something new or great. It's nothing great! It certainly doesn't offer any new evidence of any sale or lease. For that matter, it doesn't even refer to any factual cases of Canadian law. Their document is nothing more than an OPINION! It is not FACT, nor is it the LAW to which we have agreed to for the negotiation process. It is not surprising. It is exactly what we expected. Did anyone really think they were going to make some great announcement and admit that they had in fact stolen our lands, the lease monies, and made up deeds for all the fraudulent land sales and leases throughout the years for all those living within the tract. Not likely! They will continue with their tactics of using the threat of courts to try and discourage us. What they failed to mention was that within that court system there are numerous cases in which the Department of Justice ('DOJ') has been found WRONG. This includes cases such as Guerin, Sparrow, Badger, and Dalgamuuk. All of these cases deal with indigenous rights. In a press release earlier today, Chief Allen MacNaughton reminded the world that "Canada is trying to rely on a Department of Justice "legal" opinion, which in reality is a political position on Six Nations land rights." He further says, "The Department of Justice has taken the position, wherever possible, to limit the assertion of rights and claims by indigenous peoples to protect the Canadian public purse." Well, we too have our own opinion on what the Crown has tabled. We have our own "legal experts" that have helped us to provide points that we tabled with the Crown on the same day. We'd like to share those points with you: 1. Relying upon the position of the Department of Justice is inconsistent with the spirit and intent of the Two Row. The Two Row sets out a Nation-to-Nation relationship. The DOJ is not a Nation. 2. Relying upon the DOJ position requires an assumption that the Canadian legal system is to apply to the resolution of disputes further to the Treaties and the relationship between the Haudenosaunee and the Crown. This is inconsistent and contrary to Two Row which does not allow one party to place itself in the others canoe nor to pull another into its ship. 3. Even IF the position of the DOJ was relevant, it would not be of assistance. DOJ takes the position that Haudenosaunee are 'Indians' or 'First Nations' which we are not. 4. DOJ takes "political" positions not "legal" positions. They have a political agenda to limit, wherever possible, the assertion of rights and claims by 'First Nations' in North America and to protect the public purse. In trying to push this political agenda through the courts, they have been consistently found wrong. So the LAW which they are obligated to follow, according to our relationship and ancient covenants, IS the Two Row. They have just as much responsibility to it as we do. They have many generations of neglect, man